Reinstantiation of Meanings in Scaffolding ESL Academic Literacy: Teacher’s Talk around the Text in the Reading to Learn

1. Reinstantiation of Meanings in Scaffolding ESL Academic Literacy: Teacher’s Talk around the Text in the Reading to Learn Program Liu Yi Shenzhen University

2. Reading to Learn is a literacy program designed to enable all learners to read and write successfully(Rose 2003, 2004, 2005). It is a Sydney School approach to genre pedagogy, grounded on a functional model of language founded by Michael Halliday (1994) and a theory of genre developed by Martin and his colleagues (Martin 1993, 2001; Rothery 1989,1994) Reading to Learn Program

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4. 1. Preparing before Reading orients students to the genre and field of the text. 2. Detailed Reading: the teacher supports all students to read each sentence in a short passage. 3. Preparing for Writing: students take down notes and plan what they are going to write, based closely on the passage they have studied in Detailed Reading. 4. Joint Rewriting: the teacher supports the class to rewrite a paragraph that is patterned on the reading text. 5. Individual Rewriting: students practice writing a new text using the same patterns as the reading and Joint Rewriting texts. 6. Independent Writing: students use what they have learnt from the preceding stages to write an independent text

5. The teacher prepares students to understand a text by 1. providing background information of the field, 2. explaining what the text is about, 3. making a detailed summary. Prepare before Reading

6. Scaffolding steps for detailed reading: 1, sentence paraphrase 2, a position cue 3, word meaning 4, reading the cotext 5, asking students to identify the relevant part of a sentence. 6

7. A typical Example Now this sentence starts(position) by telling us which policy it was. It was a policy that repressed people(meaning). Can anybody at this table tell me what that policy was? The government’s policies of …?(reading the cotext). 7

8. Detailed Reading interaction cycle Prepare • sentence meaning • where to look • meaning of the wording Elaborate • define words Identify • explain concepts • affirm • discuss experience • highlight 8

9. Based on Beinstein’s topology of theories of instruction, Martin (2004) categorizes Reading to Learn as visible and interventionist pedagogy and outlines its major features. • Martin (2004) also analyses the exchange structure of the micro-interaction in the Detailed Reading stage. Research on Reading to Learn

10. In an investigation of the impact of the program at Wiltja, McRae et al. (2000) demonstrate the approach is effective for indigenous students at both the primary and secondary level as significant increases in student achievement have been measured. Research on Reading to Learn

11. In an evaluation of the Years 7-10 English Aboriginal Support Pilot Project, Carbines et al (2005) find the pedagogy helpful in building students’ confidence and preparing them tackle new reading situations. Though the approach is designed for slower students, teachers have witnesses a general improvement level in all students. Research on Reading to Learn

12. Rose et al. (2003) introduce the approach to Koori Center, University of Sydney and record “outstanding success with Indigenous adults” preparing to enter tertiary studies. Students have made improvements in reading as demonstrated by their ability to write summaries of what they have read. Research on Reading to Learn

13. Joyce, Hood & Rose (2008) investigate the impact of Reading to Learn on adult literacy and finds that the pedagogy is effective in helping ESL adult learners improve their reading and writing skills. Research on Reading to Learn

14. Linguistic Analysis of R2L is limited to a few ideal samples in the demonstration lessons by David Rose. No systematic classroom analysis has been made of how R2L is adapted in different contexts across primary, secondary and tertiary levels. No systematic discourse analysis has been made of teacher’s talk around the text in R2L. Need for Further Linguistic Analysis of Reading to Learn in the Classroom

15. Classroom Discourse Analysis from SFL perspectives Christie (2002) explored the relationship between the regulative and instructional registers in both primary and secondary classrooms. The regulative register determines the pacing, sequencing and management of the pedagogic activity as well as the criterion for evaluation of performance while the instructional register takes the responsibility of identifying the instructional fields.

16. Christie’s Findings Christie’s analysis of curriculum genres and macro-genres demonstrates that the instructional register is projected from the regulative register. The regulative register is fore-grounded in the mental processes and the instructional is embedded in the participant role of Phenomenon. The principles for evaluation of performance remain implicit in the progressive classroom.

17. Christie’s Findings Teacher talk is marked by textual themes. Teachers use positive polarity and identifying processes to assert their authority. Conclusion: Effective teaching and learning activity results from the regulation of the regulative register by expression through the voice of the instructional register.

18. Classroom Discourse Analysis from SFL perspectives Yong and Nguyen (2002) examined the relationship between teacher talk and textbooks in a physics class, following the methods used by Halliday and Martin (1993). They analysed three aspects of scientific meaning: representations of physical and mental reality, lexical packaging and the rhetorical structure of reasoning.

19. Yong and Nguyen’s Findings In the representations of the physical reality, material processes are used frequently in both the textbook and the teacher talk. However, the textbook employs the passive voice and third person verbs, placing its reader as an observer while the teacher talk contains mostly first person verbs and no passive voice, enabling the teacher to participate effectively in the action.

20. Yong and Nguyen’s Findings Despite the frequent use of relational processes in both the textbook and the teacher talk, the textbook writer expresses relational meanings in a far greater variety of ways, achieving more precision, but at the cost of increasing difficulty of comprehension. In terms of lexical packaging, he uses more grammatical metaphors, often leaving them unpacked while the teacher always unpacks his grammatical metaphors with his gestures, body movement and verbal expression.

21. The Reading to Learn pedagogy is currently being incorporated into a writing course entitled Intensive Academic Writing (IAW) at a center for English teaching in an Australian university. This is a pre-sessional five week course mostly for Chinese students preparing to enter a post-graduate program in the university. The course consists of the following components: Genre Analysis, Report Task, Writing Skills, Readings and Lectures. In each week, two two-hour teaching sessions are devoted to scaffolded reading , covering both paraphrase and summary writing. The Setting of the Present Study

22. This study will focus on teacher talk around the text in the Preparation and Detailed Reading phases. It explores relations between elaboration and academic discourse. What linguistic devices are employed in scaffolding academic readings? How does meaning shift from an academic text to teacher’s elaboration on it? In what ways are commitment resources deployed to scaffold academic readings? Purpose of the Present Study . What features of academic discourse are elaborated? How

23. Generalization Metadiscourse Demetaphorization Contextualization and attitudinal commitments in elaboration of technical terms Commitment Resources as Scaffolding Strategies in the Deconstruction Stage

24. The analysis is based on two demonstration lessons given by David Rose (2003) and six audio-taped classroom lessons given by three centre teachers.  The examples selected will be marked respectively by DR(David Rose), CT1(Center Teacher 1), CT2(Center Teacher 2) and CT3(Center Teacher 3). Purpose of the Present Study

25. Theoretical Framework

26. Instantiation is a hierarchy of ... generality – recurrent patterns specialize as registers/genres, text types, texts and readings potentiality– overall potential in relation to subpotentializations 26

27. “(...) the amount of meaning potential activated in a particular process of instantiation - the relative semantic weight of a text in other words” (Martin 2008: 45). how many optional choices for meaning are taken up and how generally the choices a text subscribes to are instantiated (degree of delicacy) 27

28. (...) process of “moving up the hierarchy, opening up the meaning potential as we move, and then taking advantage of this under-specification of meaning to reinstate (the meaning potential) in a novel text” (Martin 2007). 28

29. There are many areas in which instantiation, conceived along these lines can be deployed. Within texts, it is relevant to periodicity, since higher level Themes and News combine meanings with less commitment than lower level ones. Between texts, there are the practices of note-taking, precis writing and abridgment to be examined, all of which have special reference to the ongoing problem of plagiarism in apprentice texts. Between modalities, the complementary affordances of different semiotic systems lead to texts with complementary degrees of commitment, a crucial dimension of the inter-modal synergy they engender. Across languages, the practices of both translating and interpreting are of special relevance, again with respect to the affordances and predispositions of one language and culture in relation to another, and the amount of meaning potential that has to be opened up before a responsible re-instantiation can be enacted (...) 29

30. Hood (2008) proposes some categories as potential resources for managing levels of commitment in the process of rewriting a source text. She discusses shifts of ideational meanings in terms of generalization, abstraction, grammatical metaphor, lexical metaphor and infusion. As regards interpersonal perspective on commitment, appraisal meanings shift in complex ways. Intralingualintertextualreinstantiaiton

31. I. Generalization Haliday and Matthiessen(1999:615) regard generalization as a relationship allowing for “the development of extended taxonomies”. Following Haliday and Hasan’s model of reiteration(1976), generalization is a cline of increasing generality that ranges from repetition, synonomy, through superordination and general nouns to personal reference items.

32. Superordination De/classification: relations between classes and members De/composition: relations between wholes and parts De/nomination: relations between categories and instances 32

33. Haliday and Hasan’s Example(1976:279) I turned to the ascent of the peak. The ascent ( climb, task, thing or it) is perfectly easy.

34. Generalization as commitment resources Generalization refers to a type of commitment relationships within a sentence or/and between sentences where one entity more general is related to something more specific or vice versa. It may be considered as a cline of different degrees of delicacy.

35. Generalization: Use of repetition CT2: Sentence four tells us that this difference, the difference between Singapore and Chinese people can be explained by differences in living standards and the quality of goods in the two countries.

36. Generalization: Use of synonyms One explanation for this difference may be the stage of economic development in each country and the standard of quality of available goods. CT2: The reason they give for this is they look at the different level of development of the two countries. Singapore is at a more advanced stage than China

37. Generalization: Use of superordinates( composition) DR: The particular time we’re going to look at is this one here, the mid-1980s, so it’s 1984, 1985, 1986.

38. Generalization: use of superordinates (classification) CT2: …first of all culture did not make any difference in three kinds of decision making styles. And these were quality consciousness, recreation consciousness and brand loyalty and culture made no difference in those three areas, the very different cultures of Singapore and Australia.

39. Generalization: Use of superordinates ( nomination) CT2: The reason they give for this is they look at the different level of development of the two countries. Singapore is at a more advanced stage than China.

40. Generalization: Use of general nouns In China, the quality of goods is not consistent (Fan & Xiao, 1998), thus, quality would be an important purchase criteria. CT2: Whereas in China, things are a little uneven, so people need to be more careful about it.

41. Generalization: Use of general nouns CT2: Er, people from Singapore. Can you see the phrase that means people from Singapore, Sophie, in that sentence? Sentence three. Sophie is not paying attention. I will make a note and I will record it here. (Laughter). Ok, people from Singapore. S: Participants. CT2: Absolutely.

42. CT2: …first of all culture did not make any difference in three kinds of decision making styles. And these were quality consciousness, recreation consciousness and brand loyaltyand culture made no difference in those three areas, the very different cultures of Singapore and Australia. Generalization: Use of personal reference items

43. Generalization as scaffolding strategies The use of repetition, synonyms, superordinates and general nouns in the teacher’s talk helps to explain academic texts as well as elicitate appropriate responses from students. Teaching is conducted along the continuum from general to specific.

44. II. Metadiscourse When teachers introduce a text and paraphrase it, they often use terms from traditional grammar such as word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and heading and a category of abstract nouns or noun groups variously known as A-nouns (Francis, 1986), signalling nouns (Flowerdew 2003) and shell nouns (Schmid 2000). They do not serve as referents only, but also as an important commitment resources for scaffolding purposes.

45. Shell nouns (Schmid, 2000) Factual: fact, thing Linguistic: message, rumour, question Mental: idea, notion Modal: possibility, obligation Eventive: act, attempt Circumstantial: situation, place, area, approach.

46. Identification DR:The heading’s called Revolutionary days. CT1: Ok, now the paper is called Cross-Cultural Differences in Consumer Decision-Making Styles… CT1: The journal is called Cross Cultural Management.

47. Topicalization • DR: This little part of the textbook, this little story, is about why the violence started in the townships at that time, and what happened, and who was involved. • DR: So the first paragraph here at the very top, this paragraph here at the top is about the issue. • CT3: This text is mainly about the IT or software industry.

48. Exemplification CT2: ...but they found one big difference. They were not as conscious of quality. Ok, people in Mainland China are very quality conscious. . 48

49. Exemplification CT2: Specifically, they, one surprising result was that Singapore people were very different from Chinese customers in Mainland China. 49

50. Topicalization plus exemplification DR: So the first paragraph here at the very top, this paragraph here at the top is about the issue. The issue is there are always arguments about immigration, but it’s good for Australia. 50